Petard, meet hoist

Written By: - Date published: 3:02 pm, October 14th, 2011 - 55 comments
Categories: accountability, drugs, rumour, Spying, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Attentive readers may recall some time back, when talk about illegal police video surveillance was to the fore, that there was also mention of the existence of video surveillance of a politician having an affair with a P user.

Now of course having an affair isn’t particularly dreadful by today’s standards, even if the person you’re having an affair with happens to be a P user. But what does still count against any politician in quite a serious way is if events that in themselves might not be all that damning, do nevertheless point to hypocrisy.

In the next few days you might just discover who the politician in question is. And the effects will be particularly disasterous for them and their party.

55 comments on “Petard, meet hoist ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    14 October 2011 at 3:11 pm

    Sprout who?  Don’t be a tease …

  2. insider 2
    14 October 2011 at 3:14 pm

    Let’s hope it’s not another ‘H fee’

  3. Caernarfon 3
    14 October 2011 at 3:16 pm

    It’s an awfully long way to travel for a let-down ..

  4. Ianupnorth 4
    14 October 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Shall we make this a 20 questions type thing – starting with…
     
    Is the MP south island or north island based?

  5. higherstandard 5
    14 October 2011 at 3:56 pm

    Isn’t this old news ?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5744994/Woman-in-meth-probe-had-affair-with-politician

    From what I have heard on the grapevine over the years the amount of sexual indiscretions by parliamentarians would make a Bangkok brothel give the appearance of being fairly celibate.

  6. FROSTY 6
    14 October 2011 at 3:57 pm

    It’s obviousy not somebody from the left. Even a P-user wouldn’t stoop so low as to have an affair with a lefty.

    • thejackal 6.1
      15 October 2011 at 9:36 am

      Actually we’re rooting our brains out on account of us lefties being much better looking than the RWNJ’s.

      My guess is John Boscawen… am I right sprout? Not much left of Act before they implode into oblivion.

      • swordfish 6.1.1
        15 October 2011 at 5:12 pm

        Yep, old ‘Cream Lamington’ was my guess, too.

        Ultra-Conservative Law’nOrder type whose decision a few weeks back not to seek re-election seemed rather sudden (not, of course, that he would’ve been re-elected anyway).

  7. Herodotus 7
    14 October 2011 at 4:02 pm

    Impossable to choose your family, extremely difficult in fighting your heart. Pretty hard even manging one self e.g. MP’s and ex MP’s Drink drive, fraud, rorting have found out
    So is having a partner who has/is using P any worse than any other illegial drugs. or Mp’s caught Driving whist drunk? And many of these that fall under the drugs/Drink have remainded in office without any ramifications. And I would wager that there have been many that we the public have no knowledge of yet is known within the press gallery.

    • Blighty 7.1
      14 October 2011 at 4:33 pm

      It’s about consistency with your private actions and public statements. Affairs are just one of those things and not political fodder, unless you’ve publicly attacked your opponent’s marriage – as Don Brash had.

      The same with voting for stronger measures against P while screwing a P dealer.

      • Herodotus 7.1.1
        14 October 2011 at 5:25 pm

        To test consistency we are dependant upon those in the know to disclose such matters. I imagine (No proof) that there have been countless examples of the press gallery being in the know re MP’s actions and not airing them.
        I would hate to raise the bar so high for potential MP’s that we have career pollys who wanted to be one since a young age and have protected their character, or spend their informative years in an OE, escaping close scrutiny whilst others who have had a past experienced real life and may turn out to be great MP’s, ministers PM etc and never promote themselves for fear of their past.
        I will put money on that the individual concerned is not from the left persuasion.

  8. Colonial Viper 8
    14 October 2011 at 4:15 pm

    So the same pollie voted for the video surveillance bill? How cute.

  9. mickysavage 9
    14 October 2011 at 4:26 pm

    I presume it is a tory otherwise the slithery one would have been all over it like mould …

  10. Anne 10
    14 October 2011 at 4:35 pm

    Sounds like it might be someone who is no longer in parliament, but was there until fairly recently. Narrows the field down a bit. Oh gosh, I don’t know. Agree, sprout is being an awful tease.

  11. mickysavage 11
    14 October 2011 at 4:44 pm

    If you have shares in certain ipredict stock I suggest you act now …

  12. Zorr 12
    14 October 2011 at 5:14 pm

    Well, can I put my $10 down on Simon Power?

    • Colonial Viper 12.1
      14 October 2011 at 7:44 pm

      Can’t be, leaving Parliament in the prime of his political career is coincidental.

  13. Anthony 13
    14 October 2011 at 5:48 pm

    I hope the “P user” themselves isn’t dragged though the media to score some grubby political points.

    If it was serious and the courts have dealt with them they’ve paid the price once already.

  14. hellonearthis 14
    14 October 2011 at 6:22 pm

    I first thought Michel Laws then I recall he’s like local government.

  15. Dion 15
    14 October 2011 at 6:45 pm

    Zor – I think FIGJAM Power counts as “the left” – so he’s out 🙂

    I’d be interested to know who it is, but then we’ve seen plenty of behaviour from politicians that’s far worse.

  16. Blighty 16
    14 October 2011 at 7:34 pm

    I just have to point out that the ‘hoist’ in ‘hoist by his own petard’ means ‘thrown into the air’ not ‘lifted by a hoist’. A petard was an explosive device. So, blowing yourself up with your own grenade.

    Like, someone who campaigns on being tough on crime and strong on family values, who has an affair with a P dealer.

  17. rainman 17
    14 October 2011 at 7:49 pm

    Former Yellow party man, recently in the news, perhaps a little… ah… economical with the truth from time to time? Or the one retreating to spend time with family? (Surely not),
    Pity is in’t (I expect) John Banks. I love it when they hammer the nails into their own coffins. Be good to see the end of them once and for all.

    • Colonial Viper 17.1
      14 October 2011 at 8:00 pm

      Be good to see the end of them once and for all.

      Possible, but would require extensive and co-ordinated work.

      • Deadly_NZ 17.1.1
        14 October 2011 at 10:23 pm

        Yep one to hold em down, one to hold the stake, and one to drive said stake home. Simple.

    • mickysavage 17.2
      14 October 2011 at 10:30 pm

      Yep John Banks would be the worst possible person to be caught in this.  The right would have kittens and ACT would be totally stuffed.  One can only hope there is a god and she is a leftie …

  18. Anne 18
    14 October 2011 at 8:11 pm

    “I know… of a very high profile politician of very recent years, very recent months, who was caught during surveillance of a woman as part of a P investigation – not the politician, this woman was under surveillance as part of a P operation – and she was having an affair with a very high profile politician.”

    So said Hone Harawira when speaking to the Surveillance Bill. That doesn’t mean there is a link to that piece of legislation. It just means that during the course of surveillance of a person the information was picked up.

    Rodney Hide shouted out “not that high profile” while Harawira was speaking. That doesn’t mean he was referring to himself, but he must know the identity of the politician concerned.

    The identity is obviously known among the political elite, so it was only going to be a matter of time before journalists got wind of it. I’m assuming either the HOS or the SST are going to drop the ‘bombshell’ this Sunday? That is, if they don’t get banned in the meantime.

  19. Zetetic 19
    14 October 2011 at 9:59 pm

    would you bank on it coming out, sprout?

  20. aj 20
    14 October 2011 at 10:18 pm

    ‘Bank’ on it…. mmmmmm

  21. Puddleglum 21
    14 October 2011 at 10:54 pm

    “And the effects will be particularly disasterous for them and their party.”

    That’s the interesting part. Which party is vulnerable to bad press for one of its members?

    “Not particularly high profile.” Think Rodney’s wit.

    Two possibilities: someone pivotal to the success of a party that barely registers in the polls (look at the poll ratings to see how ‘high profile’ they are); someone who promised high ratings but didn’t achieve them.

    Where’s Pete George when you need him? 

    • Pete George 21.1
      15 October 2011 at 7:07 am

      I can’t help you. I don’t follow what happens in Hone’s territory, I’m not often in Auckland, although I will be today on a flying visit – with my wife, all day and all night.

      I’m puzzled about Sprout’s motive for posting this non-news, is it a teaser for some hope for scandal or is it trying to generate widespread smears by guess and rumour?

      Unlike some commenters here I don’t wish high pitched over exposure on anyone, especially if it’s an attempt at political gain and damn the collaterals.

      Dirty politics is usually seen as crap. You may sometimes manage to land some shit on someone but people know who has the diarrhea.

      • felix 21.1.1
        15 October 2011 at 8:19 am

        A rather ripe metaphor for this time of the day Pete.

        Who’s up for scrambled eggs?

        • lprent 21.1.1.1
          15 October 2011 at 9:27 am

          About to head to the Byzantium to pick up the creamy scrambled egg special for Lyn. She has a hangover….

          Ummmmmm good fast breakfast. I have to find something good about living in Ponsonby after listening to the drunks playing “dude, wheres the car” at 2am with their bleeper…. Loud drunk rugby players no doubt.

          That is my petard.

      • lprent 21.1.2
        15 October 2011 at 9:53 am

        Ask the sprout about why he put up. We don’t constrain authors after we give them a login – unless they do something that is defamatory or I or one of the other editors consider it to cause the site a problem (and that happened in the order of 5-10 times over the last 4 years amongst the nearly 9000 posts).

        What I am always amazed about is how little what the authors write gets done out of the confines of the ‘political sphere’ bearing in mind how much freedom they have to act in. In this case if I had to hazard a guess, it will probably be because of the difference between the public persona and the private. Do as I say rather than do as I do.

  22. felix 22
    14 October 2011 at 11:32 pm

    Hmmmm…

    Rodney’s outburst is quite interesting, isn’t it? What was the date?

    Not something I imagine him blurting out for no reason at all.

    • Lanthanide 22.1
      15 October 2011 at 9:35 am

      Perhaps the politician who suddenly decided he needed to spend more time with his family.

  23. Hami Shearlie 23
    14 October 2011 at 11:46 pm

    Sprouty-baby pleeeeeeease tell us who it is? I can’t sleep till i know!!

    • felix 23.1
      14 October 2011 at 11:57 pm

      How fitting. 😀

    • lprent 23.2
      15 October 2011 at 2:10 am

      If it is an active police investigation and outside of the need for gossip, there doesn’t seem like a good public service argument to me. I guess you will have to wait…

      But I am sure Hone is dying for publicity…

  24. Liberal Realist 24
    15 October 2011 at 1:38 am

    I don’t normally comment but read The Standard daily. Couldn’t resist with this thread.

    If it is Brash, I will be smiling into next month! 🙂 Makes me think of friends and I burning an effigy of Brash back in ’05 (Pre election), Guy Fawkes Day, may have achieved something after all!

    • lprent 24.1
      15 October 2011 at 2:07 am

      Always good to meet one of the large cohort of our lurkers.. But I am pretty sure that sympathetic magic is a myth – otherwise the multilations of my effigies by trolls and the other targets of my ire would have worked long ago. 😈

  25. RedLogix 25
    15 October 2011 at 9:48 am

    The conventional standard is that politician’s private lives are off-limits unless either:

    1. There is a political aspect that potentially compromises their official role.

    2. There is an aspect of blatant hypocrisy; where it is obvious that their private actions are totally at odds with their public platform.

    Until it is clear that one of these conditions is breached, who they are having sex with is none of our business. At all.

    • lprent 25.1
      15 October 2011 at 10:25 am

      Agreed.

      The sprout knows that, so I guess that he has something and considers that it falls inside the political sphere. Probably on on the latter grounds, either on drugs or surveillance.

      By the deafening silence on the wellington politicals side I would guess that it is widely known in that incestuous gossip pit and is going to come out. But no one is willing to stomp over a police investigation. I don’t think that the house is sitting, so it won’t come out under privilege before the election. My bet is when someone hits court…

      • IrishBill 25.1.1
        15 October 2011 at 12:26 pm

        Knowing who it is I’d suggest it is the latter however I’m extremely uneasy about the personal lives of politicians, or indeed anyone’s personal lives, being used for public fodder.

    • felix 25.2
      15 October 2011 at 10:29 am

      The title seems to suggest the latter.

  26. Ianupnorth 26
    25 October 2011 at 1:40 pm

    From today’s Herald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rena-oil-spill/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503203&objectid=10761489
     
    Time for more information to be released?

  27. ze 27
    6 November 2011 at 11:56 am

    “In the next few days you might just discover who the politician in question is.”

    So any chance of this getting in to the mainstream media before the 26th?

  28. KJT 28
    6 November 2011 at 12:01 pm

    Peoples private lives should be off limits. Even if they are politicians.

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